The city of Athens ranked fifth among the Top 50 safest cities in Alabama with populations over 20,000, a new study shows.

That ranking and others were published in a recent study by The Home Security Advisor, which studies the nation’s alarm and security companies. According to the study, the Top 10 list included Vestavia Hills, Pelham, Alabaster, Daphne, Athens, Hoover, Northport, Prattville, Fairhope and Madison. The rankings are based on figures reported to the FBI by various cities.

Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson said he was not surprised by the study results.

“Athens is a great place to live and raise your family,” he said. “I’m glad to be able to say we live in one of the safest cities in Alabama. Our officers and staff work hard to do the best they can to keep our community safe.”

Johnson said he was “very proud” to work with the APD staff and Athens’ citizens. He also thanked citizens for their work and support of law enforcement.

“The citizens here do a great part in keeping our city safe,” he said. “They call us when they see suspicious activity and are proactive in many ways.”

In addition to ranking very high among higher population cities, Athens also ranked 12th among the Top 50 states with populations over 5,000.

The lists and the study can be found online at https://www.thehomesecurityadvisor.com/safest-cities-alabama/.

Statewide

According to the study, Alabama averaged 524 violent crimes per 100,000 residents and 2,957 property crimes per 100,000 residents.

“While there are a number of areas with relatively high crime rates in Alabama — such as Birmingham (which didn’t submit figures to the FBI in this report), Mobile, Huntsville and Montgomery — there are a number of communities in the state with outstanding reputations for low crime rates,” the study said.

Alabama’s safest communities are well below these numbers.

Six out of the 10 safest neighborhoods in Alabama experienced fewer than 25 violent crimes in 2017. Helena, Satsuma, Southside, Moody and Orange Beach all reported 225 or fewer property crimes.

For anyone looking to make a home for themselves in “The Heart of Dixie,” this list of Alabama’s safest cities is a great resource, the study said.

Methodology

The majority of the time, smaller towns and cities are known for having lower crime rates. Some of the safest neighborhoods in Alabama are medium-sized cities. Because larger cities typically struggle with many challenges that smaller towns and communities might not have to deal with, The Home Security Advisor recognizes some of the larger cities in Alabama that have provided safe communities for their residents.

To find the most secure towns and cities in Alabama, The Home Security Advisor reviewed the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report figures, those for 2017. Only towns and cities with 5,000 residents or higher were considered. It should be noted that not all communities report their data to the FBI. So, those communities could not be considered.

Both “violent” (aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery) and “property crimes” (burglary, arson, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft) were tabulated, according to the study. In order to reflect the gravity of the criminal activity, these figures were weighted. (Violent crimes were factored by .75 and property crimes by .25). This number was then divided by the population in the community, according to the study. For comparison purposes, The Home Security Advisor normalized the mathematical finding to reflect weighted criminal offenses per 100,000.